Pump



9 w. P. VALENTINE 7 1,930,293

PUMP 4 Filed Sept. 28, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y f I} 4 I A Patented Oct. 10, 1933 PUMP Warren P. Valentine, Line Lexington, Pa., as-

signor to National Company, Oil sylvania Transit Pump & Machine City, Pa., a corporation of Penn- Application September 28, 1931 Serial No. 565,676

6 Claims.

My invention relates to pumps and is applied particularly to discharging fluids and viscous materials from containers.

Because the most difficult materials to handle are viscous materials, the invention is designed specifically for them.

A purpose of my invention is to provide a motor driven unit which can be placed upon or within a can of viscous material and operated to lift the content from the container, and discharge it through a suitable flexible conduit to a desired point, but which will bypass it at the pump when the discharge passage is closed.

A further purpose is to provide a unit which can be adjusted to fit containers of various depths.

A further purpose is to provide a valve controlled bypass which will permit the pump to continue to operate without the possibility of damage to any of the parts, after a valve at the discharge end of the flexible conduit has been closed.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and claims which form part of this application, and wherein similar numerals refer to like parts throughout.

1 have illustrated a preferred form only, among the various forms in which the invention might appear, selecting a form which is practical and efficient and which at the same time well illustrates the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of my improved pumping unit positioned within a container, and corresponds to a section upon line 1-]. of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section, corresponding to a section upon line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section, corresponding to a section upon line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section, corresponding to a section upon line 44 of Figure 1, looking in a direction indicated by the arrows.

Describing in illustration and not in limitation and referring to the drawings:

In the present embodiment of my invention 10 indicates a container of commercial size and design in which lubricant, for example viscous material is sold and shipped to the user. In practice the original top or lid of the container 10 is removed and a plate 11 of corresponding size is substituted for it and, successively, for the covers of other containers to form the top closure or cover. The plate 11 carries a plurality of taperedface lugs 12, which are so positioned near the periphery of the plate as to centrally position a pumping unit 13 mounted upon the plate.

The pumping unit is composed of a housing 14 a motor 15.

arranged above plate 11, and forms a support for The housing further incases gears 16 and 17, the gear 16 being a pinion fast to the main shaft of the motor 15, and the gear 17 being attached to the upper end of a square driven shaft 18. The square shaft 18 telescopicallyfits within a square sleeve 19. Attached to the lower end of sleeve 19 is a shaft 20 which projects from the top of a rotor 21 within a pump casing 22.

Integral with the housing 14 and formedbeneath the plate 11 is a support 23. suspended therefrom an upper discharge pipe and support 24 which is telescopically connected with a lower discharge pipe and support 25 fitting into a collar 26 upon which the pump casing 22 is sustained. The pump casing 22 has an inlet port 2'? at one side and a discharge passage 28 at the other side. It communicates at its top with the lower ends of the discharge pipes 24, 25, affording a continuous unobstructed passage through these shafts which in turn connects with a passage 29 formed within the housing 14.

One end of the passage 29 is provided with an outlet 30 through a flexible hose 31.

The outer free end of the hose is provided with a spring 9 controlled shut-off nozzle 32 of type.

any well known A plate 33 attached to the bottom of pump casing 22 as by bolts 34 permits the removal,

repair, or replacement, of

The cylinders here are shown at 46, 47, 48 and 49. The pressure relief passages 50, 51, 52 and 53 make it arcs of contact at 54 inlet compartment appears here at outlet at 57.

possible greatly to extend the sealing and 55 here, as there.

56 and the The The casing 22 is provided with an opening 58 communicating with a way or part way about shaft 20 preferably by annularly slotting 20 in which the shaft 20 turns.

passage 59 formed all the of the pump 35, a sleeve bearing The support 23 has 7 the pump rotor 21 of The passage 59 collar 26, and locked by nuts 71.

in turn forms communication with a valve port 60, normally held closed by the action of a spring 61 pressing against a ball 62. The tension of the spring 61 pressing against the ball 62 can be adjusted from outside the casing 22 by a nut 63. The spring is laterally supported and held in place by a pin 64 which may be part of or rigid with the nut 63. A chamber 65 surrounds the adjustable spring, and has an outlet passage 66 which is here most conveniently secured by connection with the inlet port 2'7. An opening plugged at 6'7 renders the chamber 65 easily accessible.

A continuous passage can thus be traced (Figures 1 and 3) from the inlet port 27, around the pump rotor 21, through the passage 28, opening 58, passage 59, valve opening 60, chamber 65, and through passage 66 back to the inlet port 27.

The pipes 24 and 25 are clamped and held in set position by an internally tapered gland 68, and the gland is drawn downward by the action of tightening nuts 69, upon a pair of rods '70 which are in turn fastened at their lower ends to the When it is desired to lengthen or shorten the distance between the pump and the motor, to accommodate cans of various heights, the nuts 69 are loosened, allowing the internal taper of the gland 68 to relieve pressure upon the top of the pipe 25, permitting the pipe 24 to slide freely therein.

After the two sections have been moved to the desired position the nuts 69 are tightened upon the rods 70, forcing the internal tapered face of the gland 68 against the top of the outer pipe and in turn forcing it to ti hten about the inner pipe, thereby holding the two pipes in rigid engagement. It will be noted that the shaft 18 is square in cross section and slidingly fits within the tube 19, the shaft 18 being suspended from the support 23 as is the pipe 24, while the square tube 19 and the pipe 25 are secured to the pump 35. When adjustment is made between pipes 24 and 25, corresponding adjustment is made automatically between shafts 18 and 19.

The pump 35 of course need not be of the character of that shown in my co-pending application, Serial Number 52'7,068 above, for the broader aspects of my invention.

Operation In operation the original top or lid of the container is removed exposing the content. The pump is placed in the viscous material after setting the pipes 24 and 25 to the proper relative depth of the container, and the plate 11 1s positioned upon the top of the container with the assistance of the rivets 12.

The motor 15 is then started, causing the pinion 16 to rotate and drive the gear 17 which is fast upon the upper end of square shaft 18. The square shaft 18 imparts movement to the square tubular shaft 19, and to the pump shaft 20 integral with the pump rotor 21. With the rotation of the pump rotor 21, the pump plungers reciprocate within their cylinders once for each revolution of the pump. Since the circumferential casing of the pump presents circumferentially spaced inwardly open inlet or discharge passages, angularly located to respectively register with the outer ends of the cylinders during the outward and inward movements of the plungers, the pump draws the viscous material in through opening 27 of the casing 22, passing it through the pump, and forcing it into the passage 28, thence upward through pipes 25 and 24 into the chamber and passage 29 to the outlet opening 30, where it passes from the unit into the flexible conduit 31 and out through the applicator nozzle 32 so long as the nozzle is open.

Assuming now that the viscous content has filled all the passages up to the point of discharge, 1. e. the nozzle 32, and the nozzle is not open to permit the material to escape, the continuance of operation of the motor 15 and pump 35 results in the continued forcing of the material upward.

When the material can no longer find a clear path it bypasses through the opening or port 58 and passage 59 surrounding the pump shaft 20, and, due to the built up pressure, forces the ball check 62 to open against the action of its spring 61, and thereby permit the material to flow through passages 65 and 66 and back preferably to the inlet side of the pump.

As long as the motor and pump continue to operate and the spring controlled nozzle is not opened, the viscous material will continue to bypass through the pump as just described, but with the opening of the valve in nozzle 32, and the release of the viscous material, the built up pressure of the material itself is released from in front of the ball valve and the spring causes the closure of this valve, stopping the bypassing of the material and permitting an unrestricted flow upward through the pipes 25 and 24 and outward to and through the nozzle 32.

It will be evident that bypassing of the material pumped may be made directly to the container in which the material is held, but that bypassing to the inlet supplies the material directly to the pump without the necessity for gathering this material through the inlet 27, and with a minimum of disturbance to the content of the tank. Moreover, the material bypassed, having just been worked by passage through the pump, is more easily handled than viscous material which has not been operated upon by the pump. With repeated bypassing the temperature of the viscous material is raised and the material becomes correspondingly more fluid so that it is more easily handled asbthe temperature increases.

It will be further evident that the pressure upon the spring controlling the ball valve becomes the measure of the pressure which may be exerted upon the material pumped to discharge it from the nozzle 32 so that the discharge pressure from the pump is made adjustable by adjustment of the position of the nut 63.

In view of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need, will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art; to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:--

1. A pump having a casing and adapted to be operated near the bottom of a can to pump out fluid or viscous material from the can, driving and discharge connections from the top of the can, of which the discharge connections surround the driving connections and support the pump, a bypass for the pump located at the pump and a connection within the pump casing from the bypass to, the pump inlet whereby a circuit is established through the pump from the bypass at the inlet.

2. A pump adapted for use near the bottom of a container to pump lubricant from said container, comprising a pump body having an inlet and a discharge passage, a rotor within the body, driving connections for the rotor, bearings for the rotor, a discharge pipe from the discharge passage surrounding the driving connections and by which the pump is supported, a cover for the container, driving means for the driving connections above the cover and a bypass from the discharge side of the pump near the bottom of the container free from said bearings whereby the pump discharge is bypassed within the pump.

3. A pump adapted for use near the bottom of a container to pump lubricant from said container, comprising a pump body having an inlet and a discharge passage, a rotor within the body, driving connections for the rotor, telescoping adjustably as to height, a discharge pipe from the discharge passage by which the pump is supported, said discharge pipe surrounding the drive connections and having telescoping portions and having means for relatively fastening the said portions from longitudinal movement, a cover for the container, driving means for the driving connections above the cover and a bypass from the discharge side of the pump near the bottom of the container whereby the pump discharge is bypassed within the pump without returning the discharge to the pool within the container.

4. In a pump for removing the grease content of containers, a motor, reduction gearing therefor, a housing carrying the motor and reduction gearing and having a discharge outlet passage and an outlet discharge conduit connected with the housing, a container cover adapted for use on different containers and to which the housing is rigidly secured, an upper pump discharge pipe connected with the cover and housing, a lower pump discharge pipe telescopically adjustable on the upper discharge pipe, upper and lower driving shafts connected respectively with the reduction gear mechanism and with a pump rotor, telescoping one with respect to the other to maintain driving connection and at the same time to adjust to different depths of containers, a pump body mounted upon the lower member of the discharge pipe and a rotor within the body connected to the lower driving shaft.

5. A grease pump adapted to be used in the bottom of a grease can, said pump comprising a casing having a bore for a drive shaft and having a grease passage connecting inlet and outlet openings, said passage having inlet and discharge portions on different sides of the bore and an intermediate portion across the end of the bore, a rotor in the intermediate portion of the passage, driving means for the rotor including a twopart telescopically united driving shaft fitting loosely within the bore of the casing, longitudinally spaced sleeves surrounding the shaft in the said bore providing an annular opening around the shaft between the sleeves and connecting on one side with the discharge passage, the pump having a by-pass connection from the said annular opening to the inlet portion of the first passage, a relief pressure check valve closing said by-pass connection, a two-part telescopically connected discharge pipe support for the casing, a can cover to which said support is attached, a discharge fitting connected with the can cover through which the grease is delivered, reduced speed gearing carried by said fitting and connected to the shaft and means for driving the gearing.

6. A grease pump adapted to be used in the bottom of a grease can, said pump comprising a casing having a bore for a drive shaft and having inlet and discharge outlet openings and a passage having inlet and discharge portions on different sides of the bore and an intermediate portion across the end of the bore, the passage connecting the openings, the casing having a bypass connectionfrom the inlet passage into one side of the bore and a port between the bore and outlet passage, a pressure relief valve normally closing the by-pass connection, a rotor in the intermediate portion of the passage, driving means for the rotor including a shaft within the bore and spaced sleeves thereon, the space between the sleeves providing connection between the discharge passage and the by-pass connection, a tubular discharge pipe by which the pump is supported, a cover secured to the pipe adapted to fit on different cans and forming with the pump a self-contained unit which may be moved from can to can.

WARREN P. VALENTINE. 

